The introduction of movies, Open

[Dia]

Coming back into the living room Dia sat down right in front of the television and placed the bowl of popcorn on the table. "Okay just give me a sec to unpause the movie." With that long fingers with black nails reached for the remote and pressing the pause button the movie continued.

It was near the end for the romantic comedy type movie. The next one she had lined up for after this one ended was a horror movie. The excitement for that one made her snuggle even closer to the crimson snake, Nathair. With a sigh she leaned her head up against his shoulder. Dia was beginning to feel as if she could say that she loved him without worrying about him dying.

"Nathair?" She questioned, the moment was so close she could almost taste it. With her head tilted ever so slightly her focus was on him, it wasn't as if she had never seen the movie before, plus she could always rewind it a bit.

[Nathair]

The snake was quietly amused by movies. Most of it was kind of lost on him, the whole racial barrier and all, but he enjoyed them. Mostly he enjoyed Dia. She laughed at the moving pictures and sounds. He'd learned enough to understand a lot of what was going on; if not all of it. Some of the subtleties were lost on him, naturally, though it didn't matter much to him. He knew when to laugh, not that he actually did. He was incapable of actual laughter like humans. It was more of a vibration that run through his entire torso, while making almost no noise. Something far more private, that he could only share with people touching him. He liked having someone to share it with.

With Dia sitting/laying on him, the snake had his body positioned under her. He made it so his tail was coiled underneath the both of them, forming its ever-comfortable coils. He also held her while she was there, his arms resting around her stomach. She rested with her head against his shoulder, which was fine by him. It made it easy for his own head to rest next to her's, and for him to occasionally tickle her neck with his tongue. He loved being next to her, and if this was a perfectly good excuse to do so, then he'd take it. It's not like it wasn't enjoyable; though he somewhat doubted he'd ever watch... Movies she'd called them, on his own.

He waited for her to come back with another full bowl of.. Popcorn. He wasn't sure what he thought about this snack. It wasn't very filling, but it tasted pretty good. He never chewed, so it just went down. Sometimes he held it in his mouth, just letting it soak a bit, before swallowing. It was also something, however, that he likely wouldn't be found with unless Dia was around. Still, he certainly couldn't be said to mind it though.

She set the bowl down, and climbed back on top of him. He made sure she was comfortable, and she snuggled up against him. His powerful arms wrapped around her waist, and held her against his chest. The movie had been starting up, and the snake's unblinking eyes were partially focused on the screen when she said his name. He shifted his gaze, the golden eyes focusing exclusively on Dia. They'd been watching her partially anyways. They always did. Now though, his entire head turned to look at her.

"Diiiiiaaa?" He hissed softly in reply, recognizing the question in her voice.

[Dia]

New memories were constantly being made while she was with Nathair. For instance the ashen female knew that she'd miss the feeling of his coiled tail under her, the flickering of his tongue against her cheek or neck or shoulder or what have you, the way his arms held her, his hands resting gently on either her stomach or her waist. She also knew she'd miss how much he paid attention to her, how she didn't have to say anything and he'd pay attention. How he expressed his strong feelings for her in such a unique way that only he could do and no one else. How he understood her strong feelings for him without her having to say one word.

Looking down Dia watched as her hand rested on top of his and she closed her eyes for a brief moment before looking back at Nathair. Denim orbs locked onto the serpent's golden eyes staring past the image of the snake, the image of a mutant, and seeing the whole picture. There was more to him than just being a snake or just a mutant and Dia knew that. She had a special talent to see beyond things.

Placing a hand up against his cheek and just holding it there she said the three little words that she had been wanting to say. The three words that would express just how she felt. How she'd always be there for him, how if they were still alive years later she'd still hold a passion for him in her heart, how even if they were to argue after things cooled down she'd be willing to talk it out in order to make up, how she'd hunt down anyone that hurt him or worse and make them pay. Dia would not be so passive.

"I love you Nathair."

[Nathair]

The serpent leaned against her hand as she spoke. He knew the words, he knew the importance of them. He could hear it in her voice; he could feel it in the muscles of her body. He could see it in the seriousness of her face. He also knew because of her scent, as his black tongue traced automatically from his mouth, that what she said was true.

The snake wasn't sure how to respond at first, never having been told this before, and still not fully able to understand smoothskin reactions. Throughout his entire body he knew that he felt the same way about her that she did about him. It was obvious that they felt this way about each other, otherwise they wouldn't be together. Nathair may have been animalistic, but even animals understood the need to feel the same way your mate did. Smoothskins needed reassurance, and to be honest, he enjoyed the words that came from her lips.

Instead of answering straight away, he leaned close. His lips touched her's, and he kissed her. He enjoyed kissing Dia a great deal, and would take any excuse to do so. It was just like holding her, and touching her. This kiss put everything he felt for her into physical touch. He didn't want it to end, but he did let it falter for a moment. After all, he had to tell her the truth as well.

"Iiii love youuu, Diiaaaaa," The snake hissed softly, taking only that moment before continueing the kiss.

[Dia]

The kiss held all the strong emotions that Nathair felt for her, Dia could taste it. The power behind it and yet the gentleness in the way his thin, barely there lips touched her own full charcoal colored lips it was like something you'd see in a movie. The music would play and you'd know that the two were in love and that it would last. Such things as hearing music being played did not exist in true life.

The strangest thing of all, not about the kiss but rather the surroundings, was that the movie they were watching already ended and was back at the menu screen. This was not the strange thing but rather the fact that the menu had a little tune playing as it flashed scenes from the movie behind the menu's text.

Dia had to admit that when Nathair actually said the words she felt her heart jump up in a giddy manner. Hearing the words felt as good as feeling the emotions expressed behind them. Humming happily she slid the hand from his cheek onto the back of his head and held it there.

This was the second time she had heard those words come from someone she loved and prayed that the snake's fate would not be the same as the cowboy's. She was rather sure it wasn't going to be but didn't want to be over confident.

[Nathair]

Nathair could literally taste her happiness. It emitted it's own form of scent, which settled on his split tongue. He could hardly think of a better taste. It made his tongue tingle with literal enjoyment. He wanted more of this taste, and he relished the fact that the reason she seemed to emit so much of this particular scent, had to do with him. It wasn't a macho sense of superiority. It was the simple confirmation of how she acted; knowing she was not making it up in any way.

He let the kiss falter after a time. His lung capacity far exceeded her's, and he'd discovered that she did need to breath in order to kiss. Besides, if they weren't kissing, he could do other things. He moved his mouth down to the side of her neck, and kissed lightly. The serpent enjoyed kissing and tasting her body, and he took every oppurtunity to do so. It wasn't that he only thought about her body, and all the pleasure it could bring. It was that he enjoyed constantly showing her his affection. He felt it was important to do so.

The movie wasn't completely forgotten from his mind, but he wasn't paying attention to it anymore. Anytime she wanted to, Dia could steal his attention from anything else. He knew this, and he suspected that she knew this too. She'd used it now, and now the snake was completely enraptured with her again. It was possible for her to turn his attention away again, but he was secretly hoping she wouldn't. So far he much preferred his time with her than the movies.

[Dia]

Seeing how Dann and Dia had never been intimate she understood why he never kissed her on her neck, keeping his lips on hers. For all the times he was talking about his gorgeous looks, which he was quite handsome, thus making him seem like a jerk to some but Dia herself he was still a gentleman.

The same was true with Nathair, well except for the second time they met. The first time turned out to be mostly a conversation that happened between a Brotherhood member and herself with very little happening between the snake and the metal based woman. The second time Dia fell to the ground from the fact Nathair got too close. From that point on Nathair was a gentleman, as much as he could be seeing how he grew up in the wild. To the ashen mutant he was just as much of a gentleman as Dann in that he was cautious when tasting her scent and he didn't do anything without her permission.

Each kiss that trailed along her neck expressed affection, the kind that she knew existed and felt in a way before and did now. Closing her eyes Dia let out a pleasant sigh. She was in love, that was the basic truth. Though it was a lot deeper than 'just plain old fashioned love.' It was like what that one movie, The Princess Bride, brought out that there could be such a thing as 'True Love.' True love was the perfect way to express the connection, the emotions, everything that Nathair and Dia shared. True love.

At this point Dia didn't care if they were caught, it wasn't as if they were mating. The argent skinned mistress of metals made sure to explain that it wasn't ideal to get caught mating in areas that were public.

[Nathair]

Nathair wasn't thinking about mating. Well... Not entirely anyways. He understood the difference between being snuggly and affectionate, and anything leading to mating. He knew better than to take it too far. She'd explained that much to him, and it did make sense; despite him being a fairly wild being. After all, if someone else wandering onto the two mating, they could interrupt it. That was something Nathair strongly disagreed with.

Nathair's reptilian lips continued to kiss on the side of her neck. He shifted slightly, and his tongue came out of his mouth. The forks teased the skin of her throat. The black muscle moved lightly down her throat, and then back up. It stopped to tickle just under her chin, before retracting into his mouth. He bent his head forward, putting his lips to the top of her throat and kissing softly, before pulling back again.

His golden eyes watched her, staring endlessly and unable to blink. Nathair would blink as little as possible, even if he could. He liked watching her. This time though, he was simply taking a moment to enjoy the sight of her. His arms tightened slightly, holding her body close again him. His eyes still watched her lovingly.

"Myy Diiiaaa," He whispered playfully.

[Dia]

Dia didn't recall ever teaching or explaining to Nathair the art of making out but he seemed to be capable of doing just that without any explanation. It was amazing that since she told him that mating out in public wasn't a good idea that he could grasp the concept, accept it, and therefore just keep it to kissing, limited touching, and holding.

Dia shifted in his arms pulling her body so that she was in line with his chest. She had a fettish and it was the chest. Warm tender kisses were placed randomly over his chest. It wasn't that she was one moment over to the right and the next to the left but rather she'd place a kiss at one point and mere inches either to the left, right, up, or down of that kiss she'd plant another. There was no defining pattern and sometimes she would kiss the same spot twice.

Placing her arms around him she looked at him with a smile as he playfully declared her as his. "My love." She said before a rather thoughtful look came to her face.

"I don't think I've ever told you my little story, about my skin and everything." There was too much to tell about her family life and everything so she'd start with her powers and overall appearance. "To put it simply, because I don't even understand all the details, the X-gene that makes mutants mutants saved me. You see all humans and mutants alike have metal inside of them called iron. But too much of metals is bad. When I became a mutant I was exposed to a lot of metal, what kind I don't know. All I know is I would not have survived if not for the x-gene." She took a moment to allow all of this to sink in before continuing.

"Since the x-gene absorbed the metal it made the metal become mixed with my blood and so it changed my appearance to what you see."

[Nathair]

Nathair liked her kisses. He wasn't sure which he liked more though; the ones on the lips, or the ones on his chest. Both excited him, though in different ways. Despite having scales, his skin could be sensitive to what was happening. It was harder for him to be injured, but it didn't mean he couldn't feel what was happening. In fact, when it came to Dia, he was very receptive to what was happening.

His heart beat faster at the touch of her lips. He had a powerful heart as it had to constantly transfer blood throughout his entire body; enough to keep him warm. When it's speed increased, it was obvious. He wondered sometimes if she liked making his pulse and bloodflow increase. She certainly seemed to try whenever they were together.

The serpent smiled down at her when she claimed him in return. His hand came up, gently carressing her cheek, when she began talking. His smile didn't falter, but his expression changed to one of attentiveness. As he listened to her story, he also wondered how Dia always seemed to know what his expressions meant. It wasn't like he had a vast amount, and he was quite certain that some expressions were the same. Yet, she always seemed to know.

He continued to carress her cheek as he spoke, his ears listening carefully. Thankfully he was a very quick learner, and had picken up most of what was taught to him when it came to language. So he understood most of what was spoken. His golden eyes watched her carefully. When she was done speaking his powerful hand gently slid under her chin.

"Iii love myyy arrgenttt laadyyy," He told her truthfully, his golden eyes staring directly into her denim ones, an honest smile on his lips, "Sssshhee isss goorgeeousss. Ssssoo I oowe tthhee X-geene aand tttthhhee meettaall a ttthhank yoouu foorr maaking yoouu."

[Dia]

"Whatever or whomever is behind why you look the way you do and why you act the way you do I have that to thank. I wouldn't want to change those circumstances or you." Though she did appreciate the fact that he knew how to communicate with her everything else was up to him. The movie was a suggestion of something they could do together but if he didn't want to there were other things the two could do.

"You know I think tonight would be a nice night to have a sleepover in the forest with the one I love." Dia stated simply while twirling her finger around in a circle on his chest. She wasn't talking about mating but rather just sleeping together as they often did. Not everything about their relationship had to lead to intimacy. Just the fact that they were together served to be enough for them both.

"What do you think?" She asked rather playfully as she kissed his lips briefly before adding, "do you think that it's a nice night to sleep out in the forest?" With a wide grin spread across her face she kissed him again and continued to kiss him.

Placing one hand at the back of his head while the other rested just beyond his shoulder Dia decided to play a bit of tongue war inside of his mouth with his tongue.

[Nathair]

Tongue war with a snake was perhaps an excercise in futility, though that likely didn't stop it from being fun. Nathair was somewhat suprised at first when Dia slipped her tongue into his mouth, though that quickly turned into mischevious humor and pleasure. He liked the feel of her tongue on his, and he decided to use his tongue in a similiar manner. His tongue tips settled on the top of her tongue before sliding down the muscle's length. As her mouth was open in the first place, his tongue managed to slide in and continue their tongue war.

Instead of directly answering Dia, the snake's arms slid down her back, and took ahold of her outer thighs. Just one of his arms was capable of lifting his entire fifteen hundred pound body, so Dia's slight frame was hardly more effort than a normal human picking up a cat. He lifted her easily and smoothly making sure he didn't break up their current kissing game. Then he began sliding from the room, fully intent on getting her outside. Not because he was thinking about mating; though the thought was never unappealing to him, but because he wanted to be outside with his lover.

[Dia]

Once they made it to the forest Dia pulled away her chest rising and falling rather rapidly. Slowly she began wondering around as if looking for a place to for them to sleep together as she regained her breath.

Thoughts among thoughts pulled at her. She needed a place to come back to but was that all the mansion was to her any more? Just a place to live at? She had, once again, been keeping people at an arm's length. All except Nathair of course but he was different.

Wait, this was her family she was thinking about. How were they any different than the one she loved? For the most part she knew several others had similar thoughts to her own. How action should be taken, how they questioned their lives and why they were still there.

"From now on I vow to find the others like me." Thought wise that is as well as those who lived at the mansion. Perhaps if she told them what she was doing they would join her and experience a small amount of gratification. As if in some small way they were making the world a better place by getting rid of those that would rid the world of mutants.

[Nathair]

Nathair cocked his head, looking at her strangely about the sentence. He understood the words, but the meaning behind them seemed lost to the darker thoughts of her mind. His golden eyes watched her curiously. He wasn't sure if he should speak and intrude upon her thoughts. Finally he decided he could at least draw her attention to his questions.

"Diiiaaa?" His voice hissed softly, his tone curious and somewhat concerned.

He slid beside her, wondering where she was even going. There were several places Nathair used to sleep at. Unlike the stream at his old home, he hadn't found a place that worked permanently. Usually he just curled up in the trees, though he knew this was sometimes dangerous to do with Dia. She took one step and could fall a long ways. He didn't want that. So he wondered if she was just looking for someplace specifically.

[Dia]

Hearing his questioning voice Dia's attention was brought out from the depths of her mind back to her surroundings. "Sorry Nathair, got lost in thought I guess." She said as she turned to face him. "I'm also trying to pick a random spot to sleep at." She added with a light laugh as she placed her hand on his cheek.

Slowly stroking it her eyes glazed yet again as she began to think about what if the mansion was attacked again? Truth was no matter how much the mansion was her home or how much those that resided in it were her family, he was her family. It was like marriage, the two becoming one flesh. In a sense she would fully leave her father, the professor, and her mother, the mansion, in order to get Nathair to safety.

Then she'd go back to help. But what if he refused to go without her. Dia didn't doubt he would. Plus they would forever have to be on the run with them both being obvious mutants. Not only that but where would he hunt? She could get food easily and had before though it had been several years since she'd been on the streets having people run away screaming as if she was ripping their flesh away from their bodies....

Shaking her head Dia gave Nathair a smile as her eyes glanced over the landscape. "How about...." She started as she slipped past him and to the right. "Right here."